Abstract
BACKGROUND: pOsNAR2.1:OsNAR2.1 expression could significantly increase nitrogen uptake efficiency and grain yield of rice. RESULT: This study reported the effects of overexpression of OsNAR2.1 by OsNAR2.1 promoter on physiological and agronomic traits associated with drought tolerance. In comparison to the wild-type (WT), the pOsNAR2.1:OsNAR2.1 transgenic lines exhibited a significant improvement in survival rate when subjected to drought stress and then irrigation. Under limited water supply conditions, compared with WT, the photosynthesis and water use efficiency (WUE) of transgenic lines were increased by 39.2% and 28.8%, respectively. Finally, the transgenic lines had 25.5% and 66.4% higher grain yield than the WT under full watering and limited water supply conditions, respectively. Compared with the WT, the agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of transgenic lines increased by 25.5% and 66.4% under full watering and limited water supply conditions, and the N recovery efficiency of transgenic lines increased by 29.3% and 50.2%, respectively. The interaction between OsNAR2.1 protein and OsPLDα1 protein was verified by yeast hybrids. After drought treatment, PLDα activity on the plasma membrane of the transgenic line increased 85.0% compared with WT. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that pOsNAR2.1:OsNAR2.1 expression could improve the drought resistance of rice by increasing nitrogen uptake and regulating the expression of OsPLDα1.